9.13.12 Listening to and reading...

A few weeks ago I bought a couple of CDs, which I hadn't done in a long time.  My zune account needs to be taken down, so I haven't been purchasing MP3 files either.  Just existing with the radio, and living off the playlists Emily burned for me.  I am listening to Owl City's "Midsummer Station" over and over...

Adam Young can do no wrong!  He is from Owatonna, Minnesota, thus the name "Owl City."  (I know, you're thinking of the Outlet Malls, but there is really more there.) Adam's music is so listenable.  You can just float through track after track.  unlike other collections, I don't fast forward through any tracks on this CD.  He is probably best known for "Fireflies" at this point, but this CD includes that fun duet with Carly Rae Jepson.  The other nice thing about Owl City, is I can put it in with Matthew or Joe in the van and not have to worry about censoring lyrics.

Now for what I'm reading...just finished the Hunger Games Trilogy, and am starting Tell the Wolves I'm Home for bookclub. However, what I am REALLY enjoying right now, is the book Joe brought home from the school library. There is an entire series of Geronimo Stilton books, but Joe happened to select this one, which is the 3rd in a series.

At the risk of being busted for copyright infringement, here's a page.  Look at what fun things they are doing with the text!  Different fonts, different colors.  The illustrations are varied and just incredibly fun.  Some pages have labeling that remind me a little bit of Richard Scary's style.  This particular series is a fantasy genre.  Geronimo has gone to some kingdom of the gnomes, and there's also a dragon character entering the storyline.  Every emerging reader needs repetition to increase their fluency. This reading level offers a lot of known words for Joe, yet on every page there are words that are new to stretch his decoding skills.  Think back to some books you enjoyed as a new reader, or perhaps that you read repeatedly. Joey likes non-fiction, National Geographic type books, so it is fun that he has latched onto a different genre.  If you know of an early reader, perhaps 1st through 4th grades, find one of these books, and see if they like it.  I just ordered a set of 4 for Joey from the Scholastic book order, and if you ordered the set of four, you got the newest book for free. (You can find scholastic online, and get the same great deals.  Yes, your local book stores are great, but if you are stocking a classroom library, Scholastic is your friend!) Always fun to find something new to read and enjoy.